


Burnt and Broken (but still alive)

by Kayuri



Category: Ori and the Blind Forest
Genre: AU, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Kuro calls Naru "Dark mother", Kuro lives, Kuro walks through all of nibel to get to her nest, kind of introspective I guess, she can't fly on broken and burnt wings but she still needs to get to her nest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:00:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27176908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayuri/pseuds/Kayuri
Summary: She lives. Burned, a tangle of feathers, branches and blisters, but she lives.Or: Kuro survives the Light and dares not question her fortune.
Relationships: Kuro & Kuro's Kids (Ori Video Games), Naru & Ori (Ori Video Games)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 39





	Burnt and Broken (but still alive)

**Author's Note:**

> I listened to too many Ori medleys on Youtube, and decided that Kuro needed a happier ending. and so she got one here. She is not unharmed, and her left wing will never carry her like it used to, but she lives.

She lives. Burned, a tangle of feathers, branches and blisters, but she lives. The fires from Mount Hosu still rage, but the change in the air makes it clear that this won't be for much longer. She blinks slowly, her sight is hazy. She can't feel her left wing. A hoarse, mournful cry leaves her beak as she manages to turn her head around. Her body is a mess, her flight feathers nearly gone. Charred remains that she doesn't trust with the responsibility of carrying her through the air. Her eyes swoop around, trying to gauge the damage. Can she still get to her nest? Is that last, precious egg still alive? She hopes it is. Her feathers ruffle, she tries to stand up. Her left leg is a mass of pain, and she purposefully does not look, unwilling to see what the Light did to her. It's shameful, she supposes. After all she did, she does not want to see the results.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Getting to her nest proves to be an arduous process. She doesn't fly, does not trust her wings. It's a first in her life, ever since she became able to fly she trusted her wings unconditionally. Today, she hobbles across the ground, talons digging into the dirt, charred wings held close to her body. Everything hurts, breathing most of all. But she has to see. Has to see if everything, all of this, has a good ending at last. The Forest Spirit watches. So does the Spirit Tree. She can feel their gazes boring into her back, digging, digging, judging. She knows they do. Why wouldn't they? She almost killed them all. Now she realizes her foolishness, but at that time… rage has been all she had known. Rage, grief, anger. Now she knows that her quest to save her last child might just have killed them before they even hatched. Another mournful cry. Her leg hurts. She still hobbles over the ground. Branches give way, creatures flee, blisters pop. She does not care. She needs to see if they live.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

The Spirit follows. Quick darts of Light through her peripheral vision, small, almost silent cries of surprise when they slip off from branches. At a more sedated pace, the Dark mother. She does not know why a creature of Dark, like her, raises a child of Light. She does not give herself the time to think about it either. Instead, she navigates mountainous ranges she would have flown over in a matter of seconds otherwise, talons hooking into the stone. The nest is close. And days passed. What if the chick hatched during the restoration? What if they hatched right after, and starved? She dares not dwell on these thoughts. She dares not stop, and thus does not see white leave for orange.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Snatches of the conversation of the Dark mother and Spirit reach her. Ori is their name. As suitable as any, she supposes. She hasn't thought about names since her last chicks hatched. The mere idea brought grief. It still does. 

She does not understand every conversation of the two. One time, Ori asks their mother why she does not stop. She stops herself from barking an answer. The whelp saw her nest. That thrice cursed Light told what happened. One time, Ori asks their mother why she moves faster at night. The Dark mother gently explains their Nature. She is not sure if the distinction will stay in the Spirit's mind. She does not know why she even lingers on this with her thoughts.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

At last. The nest. She heaves her body up, her abused leg trembling. Her prayers were heard. Her egg sits there, whole, unblemished. No burns, no cracks. A short, barking hooting noise leaves her, and she carefully unfolds her damaged wings, curls them around the egg. She notes the Spirit and their Dark mother lingering, and she is tempted to chase them off. But her body is too tired, four days of walking to reach her nest have exhausted her. Her eyes droop, her wings curl more around the egg. When she opens her eyes again, a leaf with water lies at the entrance of her nest, lingering Dark close. The Dark mother then. She drinks gratefully, wings unfurling from the egg to rest for a while. She turns back to the egg shortly after. It moves, and her heart soars. Her chick will live. She may be burnt, blistered, broken and tired, but her chick will live. A small, triumphant call leaves her throat as the egg shell breaks. When they tumble out of their egg, she lowers her forehead against their downy body, and exhales in relief. It was worth it. She lives. Her body is a burnt and broken mess, but for her chick, she will live.


End file.
